In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization. - Golden Compass @ IMDB
The first movie based on the bestselling Philip Pullman novels. The "His Dark Materials" trilogy is comprised of "The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass". It revolves around a young girl who travels to the far north to save her best friend. Along the way she encounters shape-shifting creatures, witches, and a variety of otherworldly characters in parallel universes.
Watch it. Be awestruck. It does remind me of The Chronicles of Narnia, rather than Lord of the Rings, except with bears instead of a lion. More breath-taking Golden Compass trailers at MovieWeb.